IC Insights - Dataset Analysis - Essay Example

IC Insights: Dataset Analysis By Introduction A dataset is simply a group or collection of data. Generally, contents of a single data matrix are recorded in a dataset to give the user a comprehensive view of a particular topic (Mirer, 2014, n.p). A dataset is prepared using relevant portions of a database. In a dataset, every column represents a specific variable whereas every row represents the number of units corresponding to the variable. Each value of the variable in a dataset is called datum (Johnson, 2000, p.7). Depending on the number of rows, one or more members and corresponding data may be included in a dataset. In the current complex business environment, dataset is widely used in several forms to analyse and interpret data and to draw up meaningful conclusions. With the recent developments in the computing technology, it is easy for individuals or businesses to prepare datasets and transform them into meaningful information. Today, MS Excel is widely used to develop datasets because even a non-tech savvy person can use this programme for arranging the relevant data in the form of a dataset. It is important to note that a data set must not necessarily contain financial or monetary data but it may contain any other form of data that can create a deep understanding of the given topic. This paper will analyze a dataset prepared by IC Insights about the sales performance of top 12 smartphone companies during the 2011-2013 fiscal periods. The paper will provide an explanation of the dataset, identify the meaning of the variables, and comment on its overall purpose and limitations. Explanation of the Dataset The dataset chosen for this project contains the data of smartphone sales of leading 12 companies for the three consecutive years beginning from 2011. Samsung, Apple, LG, Lenovo, ZTE, Huawei, Sony, Yulong/Coolpad, Nokia, HTC, RIM, Google/Motorola are the companies discussed in this dataset. In addition to presenting the sales data of smartphone sales, the dataset provides percentage change of increase/decrease in sales from year to year under consideration and also the industry ranking of these companies during the same period. An analysis of this dataset may assist the reader to form a clear understanding of the market growth of each company over the 2011-2013 period. From the dataset, it is clear that Samsung was at the #1 position of the global smartphone industry for the three consecutive years with convincing increases in sales each year. The company’s sales rose from 95 million units in 2011 to 218 million units in 2012, achieving 129% increase in sales. In 2013, the company sold 306 million units with 41% increase in sales relative to the previous year. Similarly, Apple remained in the #2 position over the whole 2011-2013 period but the firm’s sales growth was not convincing as compared to its major competitor Samsung. To justify, even though the company sold 93 million units of smartphones in 2011, its sales increased only to 136 million in 2012, gaining a 46% improvement in sales. LG is the 3rd rank holder in the smartphone sector with 49 million units of products sold in the 2013 fiscal year. It is interesting to note that the company was at the #8 and #7 positions in 2011 and 2012 respectively, and attained the #3 position in 2013 over Nokia, HTC, and RIM. Lenovo also improved its industry status in 2013. Although the company was ranked #9 in 2012 with the sale of only 23 million units, its sales significantly grew to 47 million units and achieved the #4 industry ranking. Even though the Chinese company Huawei was at the bottom of the ranking chart with #10 and #11 ranks respectively in 2011 and 2012, the company notably improved its sales to reach the #5 position. At the same time, Nokia faced severe setback in 2013 in terms of industry ranking. When the company was at the #3 position in 2011 and 2012 with the sale of 77 million and 35 million units respectively, its units of sale dropped to 34 million in 2013 and the company reached #9 position. Although the Google/Motorola alliance increased its sales from 19 million units in 2011 to 23 million units in 2012, its industry ranking fell from #8 to #10 during this period. The firm’s sales dropped to 18 million units in 2013 with a 24% decline in sales and the company reached the last position (#12) in the industry ranking table. The Canadian company RIM also lost its market share significantly to competitors. When the company sold 51 million and 33 million units respectively in 2011 and 2012, it could sell only 21 million units in 2013. RIM stood at the #11 position in 2013. Purpose of the Dataset The major purpose of this dataset is to provide the stakeholders of the global smartphone industry with a detailed view of the sales growth of leading 12 companies in the industry during the 2011-2013 period. By providing the sales figures of the industry leaders in a single chart, this dataset can help the stakeholders not only to analyze the individual status of the company but also to compare their sales growth in an efficient manner. I chose this dataset particularly because of the growing importance of smartphones in the modern life. I strongly think that integrating the sales figures of leading smartphone marketers into a single chart is a great way to compare their competitiveness and to identify the most potential market players. By analyzing this dataset, a shareholder or investor is able to take sound investment decisions and support companies with greater growth potential. To illustrate, an investor analyzing this dataset can recognize Samsung and Apple as safe investment choices because these two companies had been improving their sales figures notably. When Samsung increased its sales by 41% in 2013 relative to the previous year, Apple did it by 11%. In addition, this dataset can assist the users to identify companies that attained positive sales growth over the years and those with a negative sales growth. Considering the cut-throat competition in the smartphone market, it is necessary for investors to evaluate this type of a dataset to be well informed of the potentiality of the competitors in the industry. In many occasions, an investor cannot take sound business decisions considering the industry ranking of the company only because firms showing greater growth potential may not be ranked top always. Hence, investors are suggested to evaluate the percentage of increase/decrease in sales between two consecutive fiscal periods and thereby to compare the sales growth of major players in the market. Another major purpose of this dataset is to highlight companies that achieved a negative sales growth over the past years and to communicate this matter to stakeholders concerned. When investors are aware of the companies that have been struggling to improve their sales over the past years, they can abstain from investing in those companies. Sometimes it is observed that investors remain loyal to popular companies having a great brand value even if those companies fail to perform up to the industry benchmarks. The fact is that investors are not aware of what the competing firms have achieved because they are overconfident in companies where they hold a financial interest. In addition, there is a common perception that reputed brands perform always outstandingly, and hence there is no need to review their performance efficiency. This dataset is effective to address such misperceptions and to create a good awareness of the overall industry trends. In other words, investors obtain the opportunity to evaluate the operational efficiency of all major brands regardless of their popularity and to finance feasible brands. In short, this dataset can be considered a brief overview of the sales growth of leading players in the global smartphone industry. Meaning of the Variables It is inevitable for users to comprehend the meaning of different variables used in this dataset to obtain a clear understanding of the contents of the dataset and to draw up potential conclusions. In this given dataset, the major variables include rank, total smartphone units, and the percentage of change in sales. The rank variables presented in the first three columns of the dataset reflect the industry ranking of the leading 12 smartphone companies during the period 2011-2013. The first column represents the 2013 ranking of the companies whereas the second and third column variables indicate the firm’s industry ranking respectively in 2012 and 2011. This is the simplest measure available for an investor to identify the industry position of the company in which he/she is planning to invest, or for the general public to evaluate the competitiveness of each firm. The second variable used, the total smartphone units, reflects the total unit of smartphones sold by a company yearly. It is important to note that the total number of units are given in million. From analyzing the data corresponding to this variable, a user can understand how many units of smartphones have been sold by each company annually. Since this variable is used for all the three consecutive years, it is beneficial for the audience to compare the total units sold by a company in the three separate fiscal periods. Similarly, the percentage of change in sales is used as the third variable in this dataset to give the audience an analytical view of the data presented. The data corresponding to this variable can make it easier for the users to recognize the percentage of increase/decrease in sales a company attained between two consecutive years. Such an understanding may help the audience to obtain clear view of the market competitiveness and business sustainability of different companies operating in the smartphone industry. Graphical Representation (Source: IC Insights, November 12, 2013) This graphical representation of the dataset makes it easier for the reader to obtain a clear view of the global smartphone industry without researching deeper into the topic. It really assists the user to understand how each company performed during the 2011-2013 period in terms of smartphone sales. Another feature of this presentation is that it is understandable to even common people who are interested in interpret datasets to derive meaningful conclusions. By a simple glance, a person can understand that Samsung and Apple dominate the global smartphone industry and companies like Nokia, RIM, and HTC are losing their market share to competitors. Numerical Representation Major Smartphone Sellers 2011-2013F 2013 F Rank 2012 Rank 2011 Rank Company 2011 Total Smartphone Units (M) 2012 Total Smartphone Units (M) 2012/2011 % Change 2013 F Total Smartphone Units (M) 2013/2012 % Change 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 8 9 4 11 6 12 3 7 5 10 1 2 7 - 9 10 6 - 3 5 4 8 Samsung Apple LG Lenovo ZTE Huawei Sony Yulong/Coolpad Nokia HTC RIM Google/Motorola 95 93 24 2 12 10 24 5 77 45 51 19 218 136 26 23 35 22 32 18 35 31 33 23 129% 46% 8% 955% 192% 120% 31% 260% -55% -32% -36% 22% 306 151 49 47 45 41 40 35 34 22 21 18 41% 11% 88% 103% 29% 86% 26% 94% -4% -30% -36% -24% - - - Other 27 80 196% 167 108% - - - Total 485 712 47% 975 37% (Source: IC Insights, November 12, 2013) This numerical presentation of the dataset is helpful for the reader to obtain a detailed view of the performance of the key players in the global smartphone industry over the last three fiscal years. In addition, one can easily identify the rank each company attained over the past three consecutive years starting from 2011. Another notable aspect of this table is that it reflects the percentage of increase/decrease in sales from one year to another and therefore it is easy for the reader to form a great understanding of the operational stability of the company under consideration. An investor may obtain some basic idea about the financial stability of each company from this numerical data chart. Statistical Analysis Although this dataset gives detailed sales data of the major marketers operating in the smartphone industry, a further statistical analysis of the data is required to describe the relationships within the dataset and to make inferences. Through a comprehensive statistical evaluation, a user may obtain a lot of valuable information from this dataset. First, although Nokia had been the industry leader in the mobile handset market, the company has failed to maintain this competitiveness in the smartphone industry. To illustrate, Nokia sold 77 million units of smartphones in 2011but this figure dropped to 35 million in the following year, leading to a 55% decline in sales. The company’s sales fell further to a 34 million in 2013 even though the percentage of decline was only 4% this time. As a result of this constant decline in sales, the company’s industry ranking dropped from #3 in 2011 and 2012 to #9 in 2013. Hence, it is strongly suggestible for investors not to invest in Nokia unless the company shows improvements in sales in the coming years. Second, an average person looking at this dataset may think that Samsung and Apple are the best investment options in the smartphone industry. However, the fact is another. Although Samsung achieved a 129% increase in sales in 2012 compared to the previous year, the company’s percentage of sales growth in 2013 was only 41%. That means Samsung failed to maintain its sales growth rate during the period 2012-2013. Similarly, when Apple posted a 46% increase in sales in 2012 compared to 2011, its sales growth dropped to a marginal 11% in 2013. In short, both Samsung and Apple have lost their growth momentum due to the stiff market competition. Hence, these companies may not be able to pay their investors at attractive rates. Therefore, investors should understand the fact that the total number of units sold may not necessarily be an indication of the firm’s market sustainability. Third, this dataset reflects a potential investment opportunity that many of the investors might have skipped. This dataset points to the improved performance of a number of emerging Asian companies in terms of sales. To support, LG, Lenovo, and Yulong/Coolpad have increased their market share rapidly over the 2011-2013 period. Lenovo sold only 2 million units of smartphone in 2011 and the company was not even included in the industry ranking list in that year. To everyone’s surprise, the company sold 23 million smartphones in the next year, gaining a 955% rise in the sales from 2011 and the industry ranking #9. Lenovo further increased its sales to 47 million in 2013 and was ranked #4 in the global smartphones industry. Likewise, LG attained the #3 rank in the industry in 2013 when the company was ranked #7 and #8 in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The industry ranking of Yulong/Coolpad improved from #12 from 2012 to #8 in 2013 with a 94% increase in sales. Hence, it is strongly recommendable for investors to focus on these fast emerging smartphone companies so as to capitalise on their greater growth potential. Limitations Although this dataset is able to give the audience detailed data regarding the sale of leading smartphone marketers during the given period, it has some limitations too. It is to be noted that increase in sales may not always indicate that the firm is operating profitably. Sometimes companies invest heavily in advertising and promotions to generate more sales and under those circumstances increase in sales would not contribute to the firm’s profitability. In addition to advertising, increased sales and distribution expenses may also outweigh the benefits of improved sales. Hence, this dataset had to be more comprehensive for facilitating sound decision making. The dataset would have been more helpful to different stakeholder groups including investors if companies’ sales revenues had been also included for the three corresponding years. Smartphone companies market products ranging from nearly US$100 to US$1000 and hence it is difficult to establish a relationship between total units sold and total sales revenues. Some companies sell more low-cost products whereas some others may focus more on expensive smartphone models. Naturally, companies selling more low-cost models will have more units of sale but not huge sales revenues. Although high-cost smartphone models would not be purchased very frequently, those models can offer the vendor increased profit margins. Hence, an evaluation of the sales revenues is necessary from an investor perspective to understand the actual market competitiveness of the company and to make well-informed business decisions. It would have been even more useful for investors had the dataset included sales and distribution expenses for the 2011-2013 period. This data might assist the investors to identify how much money each company spends in promoting and delivering its products to the end users. If a company dominates the market in terms of sales but incurs huge sales and distribution costs, then the company cannot earn improved net profits or offer better dividend rates to shareholders. Hence, a deep scrutiny of sales and distribution expenses may benefit the stakeholders. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is clear that the chosen dataset represents the sales growth of 12 leading companies in the global smartphone industry over the period 2011-2013. The main purpose of this dataset is to integrate the sales data of leading industry players into a single chart and thereby to assist stakeholders to compare the market performance of various smartphone companies. The dataset indicates that Samsung and Apple collectively accounted for nearly half of the total smartphones sold worldwide in 2013. However, both Apple and Samsung have lost their growth momentum in 2013 compared to their 2012 sales growth rate. Similarly, Nokia faced severe setback in 2013 and as a result the company’s industry ranking dropped from #3 in 2012 to #9 in 2013. It is identified that the Asian companies such as LG, Lenovo, ZTE, Huawei, and Yulong/Coolpad have improved their market share notably during the 2011-2013 period and hence they are perceived to be hot destinations for investment. This dataset would have been more comprehensive had it included the sales revenues and sales costs data. Through representing the dataset in graphical and numerical forms, it becomes more understandable to the audience. References IC Insights (November 12, 2013) Chinese Vendors Set to Rise in 2013 Smartphone Supplier Ranking. Available at: http://www.icinsights.com/news/bulletins/Chinese-Vendors-Set-To-Rise-In-2013-Smartphone-Supplier-Ranking/ Johnson EW (2000) Forest Sampling Desk Reference. CRC Press. Mirer TW (2014) e-Study Guide for: Economic Statistics and Econometrics. Cram101 Textbook Reviews. Read More